Deal Details

Monoprice has their Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Cherry MX Blue switches for $40.19 + S/H. Came to $45.82 for me with overnite delivery. Good if you're looking for a no-frills mechanical keyboard. Was $57.42.

No N-Key Rollover. The description says 64 key rollover but the reviews are stating that it's more like 6 key which is what USB usually supports. Might be important if you're expecting to press more than 6 keys simultaneously.

Community Wiki

iOne has a poor reputation when it comes to mechanical keyboards. The Scorpius M10 is one of those keyboards which gave iOne that horrendous legacy.

It doesn't matter if the branding says iOne or Monoprice. Both of these keyboards were made by the same manufacturer (iONE). One can speculate that the quality has changed within this product line over the years, but to argue that the products are different due to a pricing tiers is unsubstantiated.

People looking for a basic mechanical keyboard should keep an eye out for a the Rosewill 9000 series and the 9000 ivory. They are Costar-made, as are "top-branded" FILCO. The Rosewill USB connector problem has been fixed. Those boards have hit $55 shipped recently, which is only $15 more than this keyboard, while they're superior in quality.

EDIT: To provide more color, the Scorpius M10 was discontinued, due to reliability issues. Monoprice commissioned the excess stock to be re-branded under the Monoprice name. User experiences show that this is certainly the case. Part numbers from the Monoprice model correspond to the M10. The build/revision dates from recently purchased Monoprice units report 2010.

EDIT 2: http://imgur.com/a/bL3qR The soldering quality is harmful to the eye. An unresolved problem with the M10 which persists after the re-branding. Photos 4 and 5 depict careless and atrocious solder joints.

So the 3 bad reviews that show prominently on that page are from 2007/2008 with a different company that had it OEM'd at almost twice the price makes this one bad? Sure it may be the same OEM but that doesn't mean that Monoprice is getting the same build or quality. It may not be up to the quality of a ducky but neither is the price. For that matter, none of the mainstream keyboards would be. $45 for a mechanical keyboard is a great price plus you have monoprice's return policy if you get one you don't like. I'd rather have a basic mechanical switch keyboard than an equivalently priced rubber dome.

So the 3 bad reviews that show prominently on that page are from 2007/2008 with a different company that had it OEM'd at almost twice the price makes this one bad? Sure it may be the same OEM but that doesn't mean that Monoprice is getting the same build or quality. It may not be up to the quality of a ducky but neither is the price. For that matter, none of the mainstream keyboards would be. $45 for a mechanical keyboard is a great price plus you have monoprice's return policy if you get one you don't like. I'd rather have a basic mechanical switch keyboard than an equivalently priced rubber dome.

iOne has a generally poor reputation when it comes to mechanical keyboards, and the Scorpius M10 is one of those keyboards that gave its reputation.

It doesn't matter if the branding says iOne or Monoprice. At the end of the day, both of these keyboards were made by the same OEM (iONE), and are substantially the same product. You can speculate that the quality has changed within this product line over the years, but to argue that the products are different due to a price discrimination phenomenon isn't really relevant.

Personally, I think that people looking for a basic mechanical keyboard should keep an eye out for a Rosewill. They are Filco-made, and their only real problem (loose USB connector) has since been corrected. They have been as low as $55 shipped recently, which is quite comparable to the Monoprice, and go on sale in the ~$60 range nearly every single week.

EDIT: To provide more color, the Scorpius M10 was discontinued, likely due to horrendous reliability issues. Monoprice likely commissioned excess stock or excess manufacturing bandwidth to be branded under the Monoprice name. User experiences show that this is almost certainly the case, as part numbers from the Monoprice model correspond to the M10, and build/revision dates from recently purchased Monoprice units are from 2010.

EDIT 2: http://imgur.com/a/bL3qR The solder quality is horrendous, which coincidentally was the primary problem with the M10. Photos 4 and 5 look like a blind man did it by hand.

iOne has a generally poor reputation when it comes to mechanical keyboards, and the Scorpius M10 is one of those keyboards that gave its reputation.

It doesn't matter if the branding says iOne or Monoprice. At the end of the day, both of these keyboards were made by the same OEM (iONE), and are substantially the same product. You can speculate that the quality has changed within this product line over the years, but to argue that the products are different due to a price discrimination phenomenon isn't really relevant.

Personally, I think that people looking for a basic mechanical keyboard should keep an eye out for a Rosewill. They are Filco-made, and their only real problem (loose USB connector) has since been corrected. They have been as low as $55 shipped recently, which is quite comparable to the Monoprice, and go on sale in the ~$60 range nearly every single week.

EDIT: To provide more color, the Scorpius M10 was discontinued, likely due to horrendous reliability issues. Monoprice likely commissioned excess stock or excess manufacturing bandwidth to be branded under the Monoprice name. User experiences show that this is almost certainly the case, as part numbers from the Monoprice model correspond to the M10, and build/revision dates from recently purchased Monoprice units are from 2010.

EDIT 2: http://imgur.com/a/bL3qR The solder quality is horrendous, which coincidentally was the primary problem with the M10. Photos 4 and 5 look like a blind man did it by hand.

The USB connector issue was corrected on the 9000 series? I hadn't seen that. It was the reason I didn't grab one of the $60 deals. Almost bit on the $89 9100 w/ browns on BF.

But again, this one is $40, not $60 or more. Sure you can pay for higher quality but I'm not looking to flex my keyboard or use it to kill rats. Just type.

The "terrible" Razer BW Ultimate Mac I picked up for $60 years ago still works great and hasn't fallen apart either. Maybe it will in the next decade or so.

Don't get me wrong, I am not stating that this is the highest quality mechanical, it's not. I don't have any illusions regarding iOne's quality. They don't make a $100 keyboard (the new Das w/ media controls?) nor do I plan on taking it apart and making sure the solder joints are all high quality, but is it a $40~50 keyboard? I think so. It'll do great as a replacement for the Logitech made Dell keyboard I use at work.

The USB connector issue was corrected on the 9000 series? I hadn't seen that. It was the reason I didn't grab one of the $60 deals. Almost bit on the $89 9100 w/ browns on BF.

But again, this one is $40, not $60 or more. Sure you can pay for higher quality but I'm not looking to flex my keyboard or use it to kill rats. Just type.

The "crappy" Razer BW Ultimate Mac I picked up for $60 years ago still works great and hasn't fallen apart either. Maybe it will in the next decade or so.

Don't get me wrong, I am not stating that this is the highest quality mechanical, it's not. I don't have any illusions regarding iOne's quality. They don't make a $100 keyboard (the new Das w/ media controls?) nor do I plan on taking it apart and making sure the solder joints are all high quality, but is it a $40~50 keyboard? I think so. It'll do great as a replacement for the Logitech made Dell keyboard I use at work.

It's $40...before shipping. It comes out to ~$50 for me shipped to NY.

You can obviously buy whatever you want, but when you're already paying in the neighborhood of $50 for a keyboard, it may be wise to spend $5-10 more for soldering that doesn't look like a blind man did it. I mean, look at that album. I haven't butchered a job that badly since I was a freshman EE.

You can obviously buy whatever you want, but when you're already paying in the neighborhood of $50 for a keyboard, it may be wise to spend $5-10 more for soldering that doesn't look like a blind man did it. I mean, look at that album. I haven't butchered a job that badly since I was a freshman EE.

Cool about the Rosewill. They had some good deals directly on Amazon. I avoided the 9000 w/ reds on NE for $50 because of that issue since I didn't know it was fixed.

Yes, that is a great job, isn't it The reality is that the keyboard will more likely to be returned because people won't like the noise or feel of it more than because of the quality of the solder job. I love mechanical keyboards but most people are used to the rubber done these days and the difference is something they need to get used to. The noise of the Blues is probably a bigger issue than the feel at that. I actually prefer the old Alps switches and would love to see a deal on the new Matias Quiet Pro for PC. until then I may just pick up some o-rings for the Razer.